Thank you for visiting The islander Newspaper Online.

We are currently updating our website to provide you better service and function.
If you would like to access the new site, please, click here: The islander Newspaper

Sorry for any inconvenience. Our new site and service will resume shortly.

Web Master

The Award Winning & Best News on Anna Maria Island, FL Since 1992

"The Award Winning & Best News on Anna Maria Island, FL Since 1992"

Monday, Mar, 18, 2024
Florida Press Assn. Award-Winning Web Site
Home Latest News Weather Sports Real Estate Classifieds Island Guide islander Store

 SECTIONS

 • 

Main News

 • 

Classifieds

 • 

Opinions

 • 

Streetlife

 • 

Calendar

 • 

Fishing

 • 

Sports

 • 

Real Estate

 • 

Obituaries

 • 

Weather

 Features

 • 

Cortez Cook Off: The Results

 • 

Anna Maria Island Bridge FDOT replacement bridge

 • 

National Hurricane Center (Atlantic)

 • 

Advanced Search

 • 

I love AMI

 • 

Mystery Story

 • 

Fishing Laws

 Classifieds

 • 

Classifieds Page

 • 

Place An AD

 • 

Items for Sale

 • 

Garage Sale

 • 

Estate Sale

 • 

Announcments

 • 

Lost & Found

 • 

Pets

 • 

Transportation

 • 

Boats & Boating

 • 

Fishing

 • 

Kids 4 Hire

 • 

Help Wanted

 • 

Health Care

 • 

Services

 • 

Lawn & Garden

 • 

Landscaping

 • 

Home Improvement

 • 

Business Opportunities

 • 

Rentals

 • 

Real Estate

 Weather

 • 

Today's Forecast

 • 

10 Day Forecast

 • 

Today's Tides

 • 

Emergency e-mail

 • 

Storm Watch

 Archive

 • 

News Archive

 • 

2009 Top Notch Gallery

 • 

2008 Top Notch Gallery

 • 

2007 Top Notch Gallery

 • 

2006 Top Notch Gallery

 • 

2005 Top Notch Gallery

 • 

2004 Top Notch Gallery

 Useful Links

 • 

Island Links

 • 

i.wed

 • 

islander Store

 • 

About this Site

 Contact Us

 • 

islander Store

 • 

Subscribe

 • 

About Us

 • 

e-mail us

Story Tools

Dead to the left, dead to the right ...

red tide dead zone
Photo by: Jack Elka click to enlarge

Depending on if you look at it geographically, vertically or historically, we may or may not have a series of dead-water zones off Anna Maria Island.

 Geographically: The red tide algae Karenia brevis has apparently moved to other locales. Red tide counts of the harmful microorganism were between low- to medium-readings near the Island to high counts at New Pass, south of Longboat Key. It has been called a "dead zone."

 Vertically: There have been reports of "mass mortalities of fish and other animals" on offshore reefs from Sarasota to New Port Richey in the Gulf of Mexico.

 According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg, the area impacted is roughly the size of Rhode Island and "organisms affected include dead fish present on the bottom (ranging from bait fish to Goliath grouper) as well as dead sponges, corals, worms, mollusks, crabs, sea urchins, starfish and sea turtles. Bottom visibility was also reported as being significantly reduced."

 And historically: FWRI researchers have announced that they can't find any evidence that the discharge of 117 million-plus gallons of wastewater from the defunct Piney Point phosphate mine in 2003 into the Gulf has had any influence in the present eight-month-long red tide outbreak in local waters.

First, red tide update

 According to Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, "The red tide affecting the Florida Gulf coast has expanded south into Charlotte and northern Lee Counties. While the bloom persists along Sarasota, Manatee and Pinellas counties, the concentrations appear to be diminishing in the northern regions of the bloom. Respiratory irritation and dead fish continue to be reported throughout the area, depending on local bloom conditions and the direction and intensity of the wind."

Dead zone

An area of Gulf bottom of more than 2,000 square miles from Sarasota to the northern Pasco County line has apparently been stressed to the point of near-death by what scientists suspect is an anomaly of the long-term red tide outbreak off our shore. The zone ranges from 3 to 30 miles offshore, and to depths of up to 100 feet.

What scientists speculate happened was that the red tide outbreak was impacted by a thermocline, a layer of warmer water pushing down upon a layer of cold bottom water. The thermocline acts as a barrier and prevents the usual vertical interchange of seawater, causing the red tide organisms to just "hang out" near the bottom for an extended period of time.

The result was the death of hard and soft coral, fish, shellfish and other deep-water organisms.

Although red tide can cause death of marine life, another aspect of its impact lies in the fact that the tiny plants tend to suck up all the oxygen in the water, strangling other critters. Low- and no-oxygen levels were found in some of the so-called dead zone, leading researchers to believe that the lack of oxygen also contributed to the overall kill.

Another facet of the problem is sea turtles. Since Aug. 1, there have been an extraordinary number of dead or sick sea turtles coming ashore from Pinellas County to Sarasota County, including Anna Maria Island.

Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch reports 12 turtle strandings in the past week, nine of which were dead. Pinellas had 35 dead or sick turtles on its beach, and Sarasota had 25.

Turtles have to swim through the bad zone to reach shore.

The slight good news is that a similar incident took place in 1971 regarding red tide and thermoclines, and researchers found that "recolonization of reef fishes was seemingly complete 18-24 months after the red tide and after five years, the fish species composition was basically identical to that prior to the red tide," according to FWRI scientists.

Piney Point

And about that phosphate dumping in the Gulf in 2003 ...

FWRI scientists have sampled the area well offshore of Pasco County in the past few weeks and said they have found no evidence that the past treated wastewater dumping has had anything to do with the red tide.

One researcher told the Tampa Tribune that the phosphate-rich water "was swept through the Florida Keys and into the Gulf Stream."

More red tide info

While Southwest Florida is reeling under the impacts of a red tide outbreak that has lasted since January, federal funding for research into the causes and cures for the blooms have been slashed.

A $7 million grant for five years of study from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences was rejected for the upcoming fiscal year. Mote officials said they would apply for funding again next year, adding that the data collected during the recent outbreak would be helpful in the request.

Other grants dealing with red tide and human health were not impacted, although those grants were significantly less than the health science funding source.

For more Red Tide information, please see our Red Tide Update page

Get breaking news

Follow the islander on TwitterBecome a fan of The islander on Facebook

Sign up to receive breaking news alerts via e-mail. We'll send you a notice when the news and classifieds appear online every week, before the print edition hits the streets.

Click here for Gulf oil spill updates related to Anna Maria Island.

Historic Anna Maria City Pier Plank Walk

Put your name, your message, your memorial on the Historic Anna Maria City Pier prior to the Pier Centennial Celebration! And join the fun!

CLICK HERE for Stoltzfus e-mails and related court documents.


FREE Island
Vacation Guide:
get it here

Cortez Cookoff

Click here for 2010 Cortez Cookoff Winner and recipes

To advertise here, please
visit our rates page
or contact us at:
sales@islander.org
Phone: (941) 778-7978
Fax: (941) 778-9392

Back to top of Page

Home | Weather | Real Estate | Classifieds | Archives | Contact | Island Links
islander Store | Subscribe About this site | Classifieds Page | Place an Ad
For Sale | Garage Sales | Announcements | Lost & Found | Pets | Transportation
Boats & Boating | Fishing | Kids for Hire | Help Wanted | Health Care | Services
Lawn & Garden | Landscaping | Home Improvement | Business Opportunities | Rentals | Real Estate

Our Privacy and Copyright Statements © 1992 - 2009, The islander